Be Good. Be Orange.

Submitted by Jorge Lopez-Contreras

Coming to Oregon State, there is one thing that becomes apparent during START is that coming to Oregon State means being orange. At the time I didn’t really understand what it meant, but throughout my time here at OSU I have developed a better understanding of what it means to be orange. It’s a philosophy, a set of morals and values that each student should live by.

To me one of the most important components of being orange would have to be being prideful. Not just in your work but also in the way one conducts them when they are affiliated with Oregon State University as one of their students. I think the whole point of having school spirit is to have motivation to do well. To have something that everyone can rally towards because in a way we are all here for a specific reason, to get degrees in our chosen fields. Saying that, one is able to comprehend and better understand what it means to do well. For some, a good school means that they have really good athletic programs for others it’s the academics. Regardless of how one categorizes how well their school performs. I believe a combination of the two is the best indicator the school performance. By doing well in these areas it motivates us to do well in our work so that we may say that we are a part of OSU’s. That students like me are the reason why this is a great school.

I think there are a lot of values that make up being prideful person. For one is doing our part and taking responsibility to do our part in the community. Whether that means doing something simple as picking up a piece of litter or moving over a seat when you are at the end of aisle and there is an open spot next to you. It means acting responsibly in the community, which Oregon State resides, by that I mostly mean not making a fool of ones selves or do anything that might jeopardize the reputation of the university. It means whenever you are attending an event on campus and or outside, and you are representing the school in some form to act accordingly, to again insure that you don’t do anything that would negatively reflect on the school. At the same time I think it means to take initiative to do your part in the community, like mentioned earlier it can be anything as small as picking up a piece of trash or respecting the cross walk and stoplights if you’re a biker. That if one believes in something that they should participate in that movement and make their voice heard.

Another big part of being prideful is, as Aristotle would put it, knowing ones worth and acting upon it. That by knowing ones worth one can respect themselves and with that treat others the way they’d like to be treated. As a student, this means doing your best not to be on your cellphone during class. It means if your going to show up late or leave early you will be considerate and sit in the back and come in quietly. Most importantly it means having the common sense that a lot of the people sitting next to you are dealing with very similar things. Whether that is finances, relationship issues, family issues, and of course school. There is at least one area where we can sympathize with someone else and that alone should be enough reason to always give someone the benefit of the doubt.